The sledges, magnetic huts, and in fact every exposed object on the Point are thickly covered with brine.  Our seal floe has gone, so it is good-bye to seals on this side for some time.

The dogs are the main sufferers by this continuance of phenomenally terrible weather.  At least four are in a bad state; some six or seven others are by no means fit and well, but oddly enough some ten or a dozen animals are as fit as they can be.  Whether constitutionally harder or whether better fitted by nature or chance to protect themselves it is impossible to say—­Osman, Czigane, Krisravitsa, Hohol, and some others are in first-rate condition, whilst Lappa is better than he has ever been before.

It is so impossible to keep the dogs comfortable in the traces and so laborious to be continually attempting it, that we have decided to let the majority run loose.  It will be wonderful if we can avoid one or two murders, but on the other hand probably more would die if we kept them in leash.

We shall try and keep the quarrelsome dogs chained up.

The main trouble that seems to come on the poor wretches is the icing up of their hindquarters; once the ice gets thoroughly into the coat the hind legs get half paralysed with cold.  The hope is that the animals will free themselves of this by running about.

Well, well, fortune is not being very kind to us.  This month will have sad memories.  Still I suppose things might be worse; the ponies are well housed and are doing exceedingly well, though we have slightly increased their food allowance.

Yesterday afternoon we climbed Observation Hill to see some examples of spheroidal weathering—­Wilson knew of them and guided.  The geologists state that they indicate a columnar structure, the tops of the columns being weathered out.

The specimens we saw were very perfect.  Had some interesting instruction in geology in the evening.  I should not regret a stay here with our two geologists if only the weather would allow us to get about.

This morning the wind moderated and went to the S.E.; the sea naturally fell quickly.  The temperature this morning was + 17 deg.; minimum +11 deg..  But now the wind is increasing from the S.E. and it is momentarily getting colder.

Thursday, March 23, A.M.—­No signs of depot party, which to-night will have been a week absent.  On Tuesday afternoon we went up to the Big Boulder above Ski slope.  The geologists were interested, and we others learnt something of olivines, green in crystal form or oxidized to bright red, granites or granulites or quartzites, hornblende and feldspars, ferrous and ferric oxides of lava acid, basic, plutonic, igneous, eruptive—­schists, basalts &c.  All such things I must get clearer in my mind. [19]

Tuesday afternoon a cold S.E. wind commenced and blew all night.